YouTuber’s son brutally attacked after exposing 'illegal markets' in Mira Road

The illegal weekly markets set up on public roads in Mira Road area of Thane district in Maharashtra seems to have turned into hotbeds of lawlessness and intimidationIn a shocking incident the son of a local YouTuber who had been exposing these mafias on social media was brutally attacked by individuals allegedly running the illegal markets on weekendsAccording to police sources the incident occurred in Narsing Home Gully which falls under the jurisdiction of Naya Nagar Police Station in Mira Road The victim 19yearold Kaif Aftab Khan son of Aftab Khan known for his YouTube channel City Headline News was on his way to a local salon with a friend when he was allegedly attackedA tempo carrying goods was causing a traffic jam while reversing in the narrow lane The group managing the unloading forcibly stopped all passersby including Kaif who was on a bike When Kaif attempted to pass from the side a few individuals allegedly stopped him and began to assault himSpeaking to midday Aftab Khan said ldquoI had recently covered a story exposing the mafias who extort money from hawkers in the illegal weekly market These mafias including the notorious Peshnawaz alias Sonu also known as lsquoSonu Mentalrsquo have been harassing poor vendors and forcing them to pay for setting up stalls After I posted the report resentment against me started growingrdquoHe added ldquoYesterday these individuals stopped a tempo in the middle of the road to unload goods blocking traffic When my son tried to get through they misbehaved with him and began assaulting him In selfdefence Kaif slapped one of themrdquoldquoSoon after six to seven more people arrived including historysheeter and alleged drug trafficker Sonu Mental along with his associates Shanawaz Adnan and others They brutally attacked my son leaving him with serious injuriesrdquoKhan further alleged that Sonu Mental and his associates are menacing in the Mira Road area ldquoHe harasses locals extorts hawkers and is involved in drug trafficking Such individuals are a danger to society and deserve to be behind barsrdquoAftab Khan emphasised that the attack on his son was a direct consequence of his reporting ldquoThey want to silence me and are now targeting my family My son was beaten simply because I exposed their crimes We are living in fearrdquoPolice sources confirmed that approximately seven criminal cases have been registered against the absconding accused Sonu Mental at Mira Road and Naya Nagar police stations A proposal to extern him from the area for two years had also been submitted in 2021As soon as the matter came to the notice of MiraBhayandar VasaiVirar Police Commissioner Madhukar Pandey immediate action was orderedldquoNaya Nagar Police has registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS including attempt to murder and an investigation is underwayrdquo said a senior officialA search operation to locate and apprehend all the accused is ongoing ldquoStrict legal and preventive action will be taken against those involvedrdquo the police addedatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params